Saturday, July 10, 2010

True Blood Actor brings extended life to 'True Blood' character

It scarcely seems plausible that an ordinary human could be the most vivid character on HBO's ghoulish "True Blood," a show teeming with supernatural, larger-than-death freaks.

Then again, "ordinary" is probably not the best way to describe Lafayette Reynolds, an emphatically gay man in a small Southern town. Brilliantly played by Nelsan Ellis, Lafayette is a redneck-thumping, drug-dealing diva with a tongue saltier than the gumbo he serves up as the grill cook at Merlotte's honky tonk.

Amid "True Blood's" menagerie of vampires, shape-shifters and werewolves, Lafayette's bayou bohemian was the hardest role to cast, according to creator Allan Ball, who adapted the show from Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels.

"Whenever you have a character in which one of his defining qualities is his sexuality, it's always challenging," says Ball via e-mail, "because you don't want to bring in someone who's going to play that in a phony way.

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/07/09/1552781/actor-brings-extended-life-to.html#ixzz0tHp7tRqB

1 comments:

Rita said...

Nelsan just drips Lafayette what can
i say that character was made for him
can't see anyone else doing this part.